Contemporary

Music Video

Katy Perry

2013

Focus :

Media

Language

Representatio

n

Industry

Audience

Context

Media Contexts :The video is a parody of the

characters ‘Tarzan and Jane’

TASK:

1. Who were Tarzan and Jane?

2. When were they most popular?

3. Find some other images of

them from film

In 2013 when the video /song was released. Katy

Perry was getting over quite a public breakup

from her then husband Russell. Brand is said to

have asked for a divorce by text message.

The narrative of the video, showing female

empowerment following the loss of a very vain

man who made her feel small and weak could be

said to mirror her private life at the time

I used to bite my tongue and hold my

breath

Scared to rock the boat and make a

mess

So I sit quietly, agree politely

I guess that I forgot I had a choice

I let you push me past the breaking

point

I stood for nothing, so I fell for

everything

VERSE :

MEDIA LANGUAGE : Opens with an establishment shot / long shot showing us a plane crash. Other shots in

this scene are medium shots of the couple, close up reaction shots and a point of view shot for the man

taking the selfie. Lighting is mostly daylight until the dark night scene where the man is killed by a tiger –

darkness helps with the connotation of the fear that the woman must be feeling. Mis-en scene is greenery

and jungle plants to establish the location for this video. The music stops when the man dies – stopping

sound on film is a common ‘shock’ technique

REPRESENTATION : In this section, the female is represented as scared, unable to cope with the situation.

The man is portrayed as not taking the plane crash seriously. He is vain and only cares about his hair and

taking selfies. He is uncaring towards the female – he throws the bag at her for her to carry. When the man

dies, there is a look of absolute fear and shock in the woman’s face

Mis-en-scene

LightingCamera

Angles

Sound

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, you hear that

sound

Like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Get ready ‘cause I’ve had enough

I see it all, I see it now

PRE –CHORUS :

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

REPRESENTATION:

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter,

dancing through the fire

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re

gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re

gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

You’re gonna hear me roar

CHORUS

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

REPRESENTATION:

‘’Eye of the Tiger’ is a reference to

another song. Where does this song

come from and why is it relevant?

Now I’m floating like a butterfly

Stinging like a bee I earned my stripes

I went from zero, to my own hero

BRIDGE Which famous person said ‘I float like a butterfly and sting

like a bee’ How do their achievements fit in with the

message in this song?

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

REPRESENTATION:

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, you hear that

sound

Like thunder gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)

Get ready ‘cause I’ve had enough

I see it all, I see it now

PRE CHORUS

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

REPRESENTATION:

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter,

dancing through the fire

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re

gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

‘Cause I am a champion and you’re

gonna hear me roar

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

(You’re gonna hear me roar)

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

(You’ll hear me roar)

Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

You’re gonna hear me roar...

CHORUS

MEDIA LANGUAGE:

REPRESENTATION:

INDUSTRY

Music video is a form of promotion in the same way as a billboard

poster or the artiste appearing on a chat show to talk about the song

TASK:

• Suggest 3 reasons why Music Videos are important as marketing

tools

INDUSTRY QUESTIONS• Which record label is Katy Perry signed with?

• Who directed the video ‘Roar’?

• Which production company was responsible for

the video ‘Roar’?

• Which company distributed ‘Roar’?

• What ‘first’ did the Roar video achieve?

AUDIENCE

TASKName a primary and secondary target audience for Katy Perry’s video. Using all

the keywords below, explain how the video would attract these audiences.

COLOURFUL

ENTERTAINING

ESCAPISM

EMPOWERING

STEREOTYPE

SELF-OBSESSED

SEXY

SUBMISSIVE

DOMINANT

JOYFUL

NARRATIVE

PROTAGONISTHEROINE DEMOGRAPHIC

NARRATIVE